Automatic cash registering device for coin-controlled franking apparatus



Jan. 3, 1939.

W. FRIEDRICHS AUTOMATIC CASH REGISTERING DEVICE FOR COIN CONTROLLEDFRANKING APPARATUS Filed Jan. 50, 1955 Fig.7.

3 Sheets-Sheet 1 If 17!: ventor:

Jan. 3, 1939. I w. FRIEDRICHS 2,142,440

AUTOMATIC CASH REGISTERING DEVICE FOR COIN-CONTROLLED FRANKING APPARATUSFiled Jan. 50, 1955 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Jan. 3, 1939. w. FRIEDRICHS2,142,440

AUTOMATIC CASH REGISTERING DEVICE FOR COIN-CONTROLLED FRANKING APPARATUSFiled Jan. 30, 1935 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 mi-iw lllll llllllilllllhl IllIlllllllllll H IIIIIIIIIIIIII%IIIIIIE Il llll' lll llll l'lllllllllglllllll mum/11114 Patented Jan. 3, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICEAUTOMATIC CASH REGISTERING DEVICE FOR. COIN-CONTROLLED FRANKING AP-PARATUS Wilhelm Friedrichs, Reinickendor f, near Berlin,

' Germany ApplicationJanuai-y 30, 1935, Serial No. 4,174 In GermanyNovember 2, 1932 7 Claims.

This invention relates to an automatic cash registering device, moreparticularly for coincontrolled franking apparatus of the kind in whicha feeler member is provided which is 5 moved by a sliding member and onwhich the coin acts as a motion-limiting stop.

The idea underlying the invention consists in connecting the feelermember and the sliding member of an automatic cash registering device 10of this kind yieldingly with one another in such a manner that, bothwhen a coin is present and when no coin is present in the coin chute,the

sliding member is able to perform its full motion v but that, when acoin is present, one of the two 15 members causes a control motion totake place,

Fig. 1 shows the essential parts of a hand-- operated, automaticfranking apparatus viewed from the side and Fig. 2 shows the deviceviewed from .the front 30 Fig. 3 shows an electricallyoperated automaticranking device viewed from the side and Fig'. 4 the same device insection on line -1) of Fig. 3,

Fig. 5 shows the section cd of Fig. 4,

35 Fig. 6 the section e-f of Fig. 3,

. Fig. 'l is a view 0! details viewed in the direction of the arrowA inFig. 3.

In Figs. 3 to 7 only the essential parts of the device are. illustrated.

The examples illustrated relate to ranking apparatus, that is apparatusfor stamping letters, postcards and postal matter of this kind. A coinequivalent to the amount of postage re- 45 quired is inserted in theapparatus. By this means the printing device and the whole apparatus isso controlled, as described more particularly hereinafter, that frankingcorresponding to the value or the coin can be effected and that thearticle which was unfranked before beingchute, however, the finger 8awill, on the rail 1 mechanism is effected by a proper selection ofcasing wall a and, after passing through a coin tester I, which is onlyindicated, passes into the coin chute 2. In the latter it is firstarrested by a stop lever 3 which is held in its operative position by aspring 4. The stop 5 is provided 5 for limiting the action of thespring. The lever -3 has a projection 8 which is acted on, as describedbelow, by an arrangement provided for rocking it.

In this .constructional form the feeler member 10 or lever 8 is pivotedon a rail 1. The rail 1 is slidable from the outside. The lever 8 isheld by the spring 9 in its normal position according to Fig. 1. Aspring ill is provided for holding the rail I in its normal position andfor returning it' into the same. When the rail 1 is displaced inopposition to the spring ill in the direction of the arrow, the lever 8during this displacement retains its normal position with respect to therail 1 as long as there is no coin G in the coin chute, as an opening Ii(Fig. 2) is provided in the coin chute opposite a feeler finger 8a ofthe lever 8. Should there be a coin Gin the coin being displaced, strikeagainst the coin G, causing the lever 8 to rock in the counterclockwisedirection. It will then strike against a lever l3. pivoted on the deviceat l2 and will rock it in the clockwise direction. To an arm ll of thelever I3 a link rod [5 is pivotally' attached. To

the link rod are pivoted pawls l6 and H. The pawl l6 engages in aratchet wheel l8, so that toothed wheels 19 and 20 put one of the typewheels 2| in motion. The pawl I'I engagesin a ratchet wheel 22 whichthrough toothed wheels 23, 24 drives a number wheel of an addingmechanism.

The operative motion of the printing type wheel 2| and of the numberwheel of the adding the lengths of the levers and the pitches of thetoothed wheels in accordance with the value of the inserted coin.

The lever l3 has a second arm 25 to which a push bar 28 is pivoted; Thelatter with its fork 21 engages over a pin 28 on a lever 29. An arm 30of the lever 29 lies, when in the position of rest, in the path of a'pin3| on the printing drum 32 supporting the printing type, which iscapable of being rotated in the direction of the arrow by a hand crank,not shown. Rotation in the other direction is made impossible by adetent mechanism, also not shown. Through the lever l3 rocking in theclockwise direction the 5 push bar 26 is moved to the left in Fig. 1 andthereby rocks the lever 29, 36 in the counterclockwise direction. Thismotion causes the arm 38 to move out of the path of the pin 3|, so thatthe printing drum becomes free. In this position, even when the lever I3 returns into its normal position before the printing drum 32 isturned, the lever 29, 36 is held by a detent 33, which, on the lever 29,30 rocking aside, has engaged in the lower of the two notches 34. Onlywhen, through the rotation of the printing drum 32, a pin 35 on itstrikes against the arm 36 of the detent 33, will the latter bedisengaged from the lower notch 34, so that under the action of a spring31 the lever 29, 30 is returned into its normal position shown in Fig. land locks the printing drum after it has performed a revolution.

With the lever 29 is rigidly connected an arm 38 which in its normalposition prevents the opening of a flap 39 provided for closing theaperture for the insertion of letters. Through the above-mentionedrocking aside of the lever 29 in the counterclockwise direction the flap39 is released.

For returning the type wheel into the zero position the followingarrangement is provided:

With the printing drum is rigidly connected a. cam disc 40, on theperiphery of which. runs a roller 42 mounted on a lever 4|. The lever Mis provided with an arm 43 which during the first part of the revolutionof the printing drum is kept by the cam disc 40 out of engagement withpins 44, which are fixed diametrically opposite one another to theratchet wheel l8. During the second part of the revolution of theprinting drum the lever 4| rocks, owing to the shape of the cam disc,under the action of a spring 45 in the counterclockwise direction, thatis towards the centre of the ratchet wheel, so that the arm 43 passesinto the path of one of the two pins 44 and thus, by arresting theratchet wheel during the continued rotation of the printing drum, setsthe type wheel back.

The arrangement referred to above for rocking aside the stop lever 3 isconstructed as follows:

Below the rail 1 a. rail 46 is slidably guided in the frame of thedevice, which is provided with pins 41, between which extends aprojection 48 of the rail 1. On the rail 1 being displaced, the rail 46is at first not influenced. As soon however as the projection 48 strikesthe right-hand pin 41, the rail 46 is carried along and forces with itsright-hand end the projection 6 with the stop lever 3 in front of it, sothat the lever 3 passes out of the path of the coin G. On the rail 1returning, the finger 8a of the lever 8 releases the coin G before thelever 3 has returned into the position in which it bears against thestop, so that the coin G can fall into the cashbox. For preventing thesetting arrangement from being used in a fraudulent manner by the rail 1being repeatedly moved to and fro, the following locking mechanism isprovided:

The rail I embraces with its forked projection 49 the pin 58 of alocking segment 62 which is pivoted on the pin 5|. On the rail I beingdisplaced in the direction of the arrow a pawl 54 which is influenced bya spring 53 engages in the teeth of the locking segment 52, the pawl 54being rocked over in the clockwise direction. This pawl prevents thereturn swing of the locking segment 52 as long as it is in engagementwith the letter, that is up to the moment in which the pawl 54 slidesofi the right-hand end of the locking segment. Consequently a returnmotion of the rail 1 is prevented before it has completed its path inthe direction of the arrow.

In the electricallyoperated device according to Figs. 3-7 the feelermember or lever 8 which bears against the coin G is moved to and fro ina regular manner by a motor 55. For the rest the action of the lever Bis in principle the same as in the hand operated arrangement accordingto Figs. 1 and 2. The motor 55 is started automatically through theinsertion of a coin. The arrangement for this purpose is describedhereinafter. a

In this constructional arrangement for holding the coin in the path ofthe feeler finger 8a of the lever B a lever 56 is provided which iscapable of rocking about a pin 51. The lever 8 is pivoted on the lever56 by means of the pin 58. An arm 59 of the lever 56 bears against theperiphery of a cam disc 60 driven by the motor 65 and is rocked to andfro by the cam disc along with the lever B. A pin 6| on an arm 8b of thelever 8 engages in the forked end 62 of a bar 63 and is forced by aspring 64 against the bottom of the fork. When during the rocking motionof the lever 8 produced by.the cam disc 60 the finger 8a strikes againsta coin G, the lever B is rocked in the clockwise direction and by meansof the spring 64 draws the bar 63 to the right, so that a pawl 66 whichis pivotally attached at 65 to the bar 63 is rocked over in theclockwise direction about its pivot pin 61 and releases the lug 68 of acoupling device which shall now be described. p

The coupling device consists of a bow H which is pivoted by means of apin 69 on the coupling disc 10 and against which a spring loaded pawl 12bears. When the lug 68 has been released, the bow H is lowered, sothatthe pawl I2 engages in a ratchet wheel 13. This ratchet wheel iscontinuously driven by the motor.

To the coupling disc 18 a disc M is connected, which has a number ofteeth 15, corresponding to the value of the coin. These teeth 15 engagein a toothed wheel I6 which is in operative connection with anassociated type wheel ll (Fig. 5). Through the disc I4 being turned thetype wheel is set to the value of 'the coin. Furthermore, the teeth 15of the disc 14 coact with a second toothed wheel 18 (Fig. 3) which is inoperative connection with a counting disc of an adding mechanism.

In the meantime, that is to say, during the feeding motion of the typewheel and of the number wheel, the stop lever 66 will have released thecoin, so that the lever 8 can engage freely through the aperture in thecoin chute and consequently the pawl 66 again assumes its normalposition, shown in Fig. 3, this being brought about by a spring 66aacting on the pawl. On the completion of a revolution the lug 66 of thebow H will again strike against the pawl 66, causing the coupling tobecome disengaged.

After the setting of the type wheel and of the adding mechanism a. key"is depressed for printing the value to which the device has been set.The key rocks over a pawl which is rigidly connected to it (Fig. 5),causing the latter to release the lug 6| of a how 82, so that a pawl 83engages in a ratchet wheel 84 and thereby couples the painting drum withthe driving means (the motor In order that the key I3 cannot bedepressed during the swinging of thepawl 66 (Fig. 3) belonging to thesetting device, an arm 35 is rigidly connected to this pawl 66, the pin66 on which locks the key I9 in position as long as the pawl 88 is swungover. The key 19 is also provided with an arm 81, the pin 88 on whichbears against the pawl 88 as long as the key 19 is depressed, and

. thus prevents the pawl 88 from rocking during the depression of thekey. For enabling the lever 8 toswing while it is locked, the spring 84is provided between its arm 8b and the bar 83.

' The following arrangement is provided for preventing disturbances incase several coins should be present at the same time in the coin chute.The lever 58 has an arm 89, the projection 90 on which, as is shownclearly in Fig. 7, engages, on the lever 58 swinging round, under thelast coin but one, G The projection 98 thus prevents the last coin butone from falling down, even when the stop lever 58 swings aside. Thelast coin but one can onlyfall down when, after the first coin hasfallen out, the finger 58 again passes under the coin chute and theprojection 90 has therefore again left the coin chute (Fig. 3).

To the pawl 88 is pivotally attached a link member 9| (Fig. 3) which ispivoted to a bell crank 92. The free arm 92a of-this bell crank lies inthe path of the end projecting laterally over the cam disc of the roller59a mounted on the arm 59 of the lever 58, so that, as long as the bellcrank 92 is in the position shown in Fig. 3 it is impossible for thelever 58 to swing back in the clockwise directionbeyond the positionshown in Fig. 3 and therefore for the bottom coin G to fall out of thecoin chute 2. The object of this is to enable the value of the secondcoin and those following it as well to be transferred correctly to thetyping and adding arrangement, even-in the case in which the key 19 hasbeen depressed too soon, that is to say before the second coin and anyof the coins which may be following it have had their value transferredto the typing and adding mechanism. It might otherwise occur, that,through the key being actuated too soon, the second coin andthosefollowing it would drop straight into the cashbox without being arrestedby the lever 58, that is without having their value transmitted to thetyping and adding mechanism, so that the person using the apparatuswould sufier loss.

Let it be assumed for instance that inadvertently the second coin isthrown in only after the key 19 has been depressed. The second coin willthen remain lying on the stop lever 58. This lever cannot move to theleft beyond the position shown in'Fig. 3, that is cannot let the coin Gfall, as the lever 58 bears with its arm 59 against the bell crank 92and cannot therefore move down to the base 80a of the cam disc 80. Sucha motion only becomes possible after the bell crank 92 ,has been swungaside through the pawl 88 moving out of the normal position shown inFig. 3. Such a motion of the pawl 88 cannot take place hdwever when thekey 191s in the depressed position, since, as explained above, with thekey in its depressed position the pin 88 prevents the pawl 88 fromswinging. Hence, with the key in its depressed position it is impossiblefor the lever 92 to swing and consequently for the stop lever 58 toswing farther to the left out of the position shown inFig. 3. The lever58 can only move out of this position to the right. This motion resultsin the lever 8 striking with its finger 8a against the'coin G, causingits arm 8b to rock over. This rocking motion is possible. in spite ofthe locking of the pawl 88, owing to the pin 8| sliding in the fork 82of the bar 83, the spring 84 being put under tension. .Thecoin will thusrest on the stop lever 58 until the incorrect actuation of the key 19ceases. The correct transfer of the second coin as regards its value tothe typing and adding mechanism will then take place in the manneralready described.

The type wheels are returned into the zero posi tion by an arrangementwhich in principle operates exactly in the same way as the correspondingarrangement in the hand operated device according to Figs. 1 and 2. Theangle piece 43 is provided on' one arm of a two-armed lever 93 which ispressed through the action of a spring 94 against the periphery of a camdisc 95 which is rotated in a positive manner with the printing drum..The shape of the cam disc is made such that during the second half ofthe revolution of the printing drum the angle piece 43 is swung inwardsout of theposition shown in Fig. 3, so that one of the pins 44 willstrike against the angle piece 43, resulting'in a setting back of thetype wheels on the printing drum continuing to turn.

The motor 55 is automatically started up on the first coin beinginserted. Into the coin chute 2 there projects above the place where thecoin strikes against the stop a lever 98 which rocks downwards under theweight of the coin and thereby withdraws the support from a pivotallymounted mercury contact member 91. The member 91 is therefore swungunder the action of its weight and of a spring 98 in such a manner thatthe mercury makes contact. For automatically putting the motor out ofoperation after the printing-operation has been completed, adisconnecting lever 99 is provided, which extends into the path of apin. I00 which rotates positively with the rotary motion of the printingdrum. After the pin has struck against onearm of the lever99, the latteris swung upwards in opposition to the pull of a spring I02 which holdsit against a stop pin Illl and at the same time the contact member 91 israised again to such an extent that its supporting arm 91a engages in anotch in the lever 98.

What I claim is:- I

1. In a coin controlled value stamping apparatus, settable valueprinting members, coin controlled mechanism including a feeler member ina stationary position. to be engaged by said feelermember. said feelermember being mounted for movement relative to said coin locating means,operating means for said feeler member and said coin locating means,said operating means being movable from an initial inoperative positionto a second operative position wherein said feeler member engages saidcoin, said operating means being movable from the first to the secondmentioned positions whether the feeler member is engaged with a coin ornot, and printing member. actuating means interposed between movable toengage a coin, means to locate a coin members in said drum, a ratchetwheel for setting the printing members, manually operatedcoin-controlled mechanism, means operated by means, an arm on thelocking lever adapted when .in normal position, to prevent opening ofsaid trolled mechanism, means operated by said mechanism for actuatingsaid ratchet wheel, a looking lever connected with said actuating means,an arm on said locking lever adapted, when in normal position, toprevent the opening of said flap, a second arm on sai 1 locking leveroperated, in the normal position, tr lock the printing'drum againstrotation, a retaining pawl for holding said locking lever in :.tsoperative position, and an arm on the retaining pawl disposed in thepath of and operable by said pin.

4. In a coin-controlled value stamping apparatus having an opening forthe insertion of articles to be stamped, a flap for closing saidopening, settable printing members, a printing drum containing theprinting members, aratchet wheel for setting the printing members, a camon said drum, a member controlled by said cam for restoring saidprinting members to initial position, manually operated coin-controlledmechanism, means operated by said mechanism for actuating said ratchetwheel. a locking lever connected with said actuating means, an arm onsaid looking lever adapted, in normal position, to prevent opening ofsaid flap, a second arm on said locking lever adapted in normalposition, to lock said printing drum against rotation, and pins on saidratchet wheel, said restoring member during the second half of arevolution of the printing drum entering into engagement with one ofsaid pins and being subsequently disengaged therefrom by said cam. i

5. In a coin controlled value stamping apparatus. settable valueprinting members, coin 0011-. trolled mechanism including a feelermember movable to engage a coin, means to locate a coin in a stationaryposition to be engaged by said feeler member, said feeler member beingmounted for movement relative to said coin locating means, operatingmeans for said feeler member and said coin locating means, saidoperating means being movable to reciprocate continuously 55 from aninitial inoperative position to a second operative position wherein saidfeeler member engages said coin, and printing member actuating meansinterposed between the feeler member and printing members and arrangedfor operation by said feeler member when a coin is engaged thereby, toeffect the .successive setting of the printing members for accumulatedpredetermined amounts.

6. In a coin controlled value stamping apparatus, settable valueprinting members, coin controlled mechanism including a feeler membermovable to engage a coin, means to locate a coin in a stationaryposition to be engaged by said feeler member, said feeler member beingmounted for movement relative to said coin locating means, operatingmeans for said feeler member and said coin locating means, saidoperating means being movable from an initial inoperative position to asecond operative position wherein said feeler member engages said coin,said operating means being movable from the first to the secondmentioned positions whether the feeler member is engaged with acoin ornot, means to effect continuous motion of said operating means betweeneach of said positions, and printing member actuating means interposedbetween the feeler member and printing members and arranged foroperation by said feeler member when a coin is engaged thereby, toeffect the setting of the printing members to the accumulated value of asuccessive number of coins. r

'7. In a coin controlled value stamping apparatus, a printing drum,settable value printing members within said drum, coin controlledmechanism including a feeler member movable to engage a coin, means tolocate a coin in a stationary position to be engaged by said feelermember, said feeler member being mounted for movement relative to saidcoin locating means, operating means for said feeler member and saidcoin locating means, said operating means being movable to reciprocatecontinuously from an initial inoperative position to a second operativeposition wherein said feeler member engages said coin, printing memberactuating means interposed between the feeler member and printingmembers and arranged for operation by said feeler member when a coin isengaged thereby, to effect the successive setting of the printingmembers for accumulated predetermined amounts, power driven means torotate said printing drum after a predetermined amount has been set, andmanually controlled means to eifect the drive of the printing drum bythe power driven means.

W'ILHELM FRIEDRICHS.

